India’s team sheet raised eyebrows even before the first ball was bowled in Ahmedabad. For the second successive game, and this time for the Super 8 fixture against South Africa, vice-captain Axar Patel was left out despite extended batting sessions in the nets on the eve of the clash. Washington Sundar retained his place as India stuck to a match-up driven combination – a call that came under immediate scrutiny after a 76-run defeat. The decision has triggered debate over team balance, leadership optics, and whether India outthought themselves at a crucial stage of the tournament. The bold call taken by the head coach Gautam Gambhir-led team management and skipper Suryakumar Yadav backfired. The duo, understandably, is now under fire.
In Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate’s words, the team meeting went till late. In the end, the call was clear – and controversial. Axar Patel didn’t make the XI. Washington Sundar kept his place. India lost by 76 runs to South Africa.
The optics are hard to ignore. Axar isn’t a fringe player. He’s the deputy, a proven all-rounder who has delivered against South Africa before, including with the bat at No. 5 in a World Cup final. Leaving him out once could be tactical. Twice, it becomes a statement.
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted the decision wasn’t simple.
“We spent so much time deliberating about the XI,” he said after the defeat. The think tank, he explained, had zeroed in on match-ups – particularly the threat from the South African top order – and wanted a bowler who could operate in the powerplay. Sundar fit that brief.
“We felt we needed Rinku as an eighth batter,” ten Doeschate added. “Someone has to give way. It’s not to take anything away from Axar and his leadership. But we’re trying to squeeze 11 into 15.”
The Washington call has drawn its own questions. He featured in only about a third of the IPL games for the Gujarat Titans this season. Was that form weighed against Axar’s pedigree?
Ten Doeschate insisted IPL numbers weren’t the sole metric. “We know what Washi’s done with the Indian team. A big part of the strategy was how well he’s bowled in the powerplay in T20s.”
The twist: Sundar didn’t bowl in the powerplay against South Africa. “If he’s bowling through the middle, then you’d choose Axar,” ten Doeschate conceded.
That line sums up the dilemma.
In tournaments like this, selections are about roles, not reputations. But reputations matter when results go south. India’s plan didn’t hold. The middle overs slipped. The balance looked off.
Two Super 8 games remain, and management insists every call is made with winning in mind. The debate now is whether India can afford to keep their vice-captain watching from the sidelines.
